I’m not a big fan of Democrats right now. In fact, I’m so upset with their negotiations to be bi-partisan, I actually considered not voting for a single democrat this November and instead voting for an independent or abstaining my vote altogether. Many LGBT people have made calls for a boycott of the democrats – no money and no votes. But I live in Texas and that changes things for me.

The Texas GOP has released their “2010 State Republican Party Platform” and its filled with hate and bigotry. One blogger even likened the platform to being very similar to that of Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill – and they are absolutely right!

The anti-gayness of the Republican platform began with their principles. Principle #6 begins, :

We believe in… Self-sufficient families, founded on the traditional marriage of a natural man and a natural woman.

That principle concurs with roughly 76% of Texas voters (which was the percentage that voted to support an amendment to the Texas Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, or anything even similar to it).

But it gets far more frightening. Under the bold, uppercase heading, “Strengthening Families, Protecting Life and Promoting Health” the Texas GOP outlines why I should be legislated back into the closet and how they intend to do it:

Family and Defense of Marriage – We support the definition of marriage as a God–ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman, which is the foundational unit of a healthy society, and we oppose the assault on marriage by judicial activists. *** We further call on Congress to pass and the state legislatures to ratify a marriage amendment declaring that marriage in the United States shall consist of and be recognized only as the union of a natural man and a natural woman. Neither the United States nor any state shall recognize or grant to any unmarried person the legal rights or status of a spouse.

You’ll note that the Texas GOP is asking that marriage rights in other states be revoked as well.

Family Values – We affirm that this section is a response to the attacks on traditional family values. These include well funded, vigorous political and judicial attempts by powerful organizations and branches of the government to force acceptance, affirmation and normalization of homosexual behavior upon school children, parents, educational institutions, businesses, employees, government bodies and religious institutions and charities. These aggressive, intolerant efforts marginalize as bigots anyone who dissents.

You’ll notice that the shoe fits. They are attempting to legislate me. They are attempting to deny me fundamental rights they enjoy based upon, as evidenced by this proposal, their belief in an intolerant and uncaring “God.” Here’s the definition of bigot to make it clear that they are what they claim not to be: “One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.”

Thus, I am a bigot too because I’m intolerant of the belief that I am inferior as a human to the Texas GOP. I accept and embrace that fact. The only difference between my bigotry and theirs is that I don’t tell them who they should marry.

But wait, it gets worse and here’s where we start sounding very Ugandan:

Marriage Licenses – We support legislation that would make it a felony to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and for any civil official to perform a marriage ceremony for such.

That’s right. If you are a heterosexual clergy member who decides to perform a marriage ceremony for a same-sex person, you go to prison. You don’t have to have gay sex anymore to go to prison in Texas (as you did in the past), now you can go just for supporting a life commitment between two people of the same-sex.

The Texas GOP then goes on to ignorantly declare that homosexuality:

tears at the fabric of society,

contributes to the breakdown of the family unit,

leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases, and

is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.

But wait, it gets worse… still:

Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle in our public education and policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We are opposed to any granting of special legal entitlements, refuse to recognize, or grant special privileges including, but not limited to: marriage between persons of the same sex (regardless of state of origin), custody of children by homosexuals, homosexual partner insurance or retirement benefits. We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.

They then “demand” that Congress withhold jurisdiction from the federal courts from cases involving sodomy – in other words, because the federal courts said people can’t go to prison for oral sex, Texas Republicans are pissed. They want people who have oral sex to go to prison. They are, again bigots, like me. Only, I don’t want them to go to prison for having vaginal to penis sex. I couldn’t care less about their missionary position.

I am a Texan, for those that do not know. I live and work in Texas and have lived in Texas the bulk of my life. It’s always been “home” to me in spite of the conservative nature of Texas politics. It has, however, become clear that Texas may soon begin to invade my home, arrest people like me, my friends and my loved ones. From the tone set by the GOP, they may decide it’s OK to open fire on homosexuals in the street. There is no stopping this level of hatred. They aren’t trying to stop us from marrying, they are trying to make us extinct.

So what should I do now? Find a friend in another country and find out that country’s laws regarding political asylum and make arrangements with that friend for when we are forced to flee from the land of the free and the home of the brave?

There is one principle of the Texas GOP that I support:

Americans having the right to be safe in their homes, on their streets, and in their communities, and the unalienable right to defend themselves.

Texas is mostly a State full of uneducated, backward, hillbilly bigots. The United States in general is a closed-minded, unenlightened, uncultured, authoritarian shit-hole. Come to Europe for real freedom. Viva Europa!

Texas is a cesspot of bigotry and hatred and in addition to homophobia, rampant racism is still alive and well there. Anyone remember the KKK guys who dragged a Black man by their van until he was dismembered. The local Texan rednecks were cheering them on.

Texas is a vile place. This story is disgusting and sad but not really all that surprisng given that Texas is one of, if not the most, socially regressive states in the USA. Those statements are reminiscent of the Nazi Nuremburg declarations against Jews and I'm sure would be unconstitutional in a Federal sense. Why doesn't Texas just secede from the Union if it wants to go down this road of homophobic persecution?

Does anyone else see how this will drastically change the prisons in Texas? Finally, they will be well decorated and inviting places! I'm excited. I say pot-luck for the first night. I'll bring the potato salad.

I pledge allegiance to the fag of the Benighted States of
America and to the repugnance for its one-night stands, one
abomination (under the god of lust), invisible (before it comes out of the closet), with libertines and Judgment Day for all.

i feel sorry for anyone that is in the state of texas. i have never heard such crap as this republican platform. i can not believe that they include this hateful predjudice and bigoted ideas in their platform and most of all voted to adopt these ridiculous ideas. this is why i hate the republican party. people in texas with any intelligence and humanity should vote these people out of office. it makes me want to vomit thinking about what i just read in this story. the republicans need to stay out of peoples lives, after all we do live in the land of the free. if any of these proposed ideas are made into law in texas then the people of the united states should boycott the state, corporations should stop doing bussiness with the state and federal funds should be cut off. something has to be done about this nonsense. texas political leaders need to get the message that this is unacceptable to americans.

The stance on sex education is just as messed up…. though I agree with some of it… parents should have to give consent after reviewing the material their children are about to be instructed in… but the answer to teen pregnancy is not abstinence…. most studies have proven that the teaching of abstinance does not work in high schools and when they are told that there is no other way they act out… thats why contraception should be in the lesson. Also they have the nerve to throw the homosexuality in there: "We oppose any sex education other than abstinence until heterosexual marriage."

i truly hope the democrats use this republican platform bigotry as well as joe barton,s [who is a republican from texas ofcourse]apology to bp to maximum advantage between now and november! i fully support gay rights!100 percent!the republicans have NO right to tell any consenting adults what they can or cannot do with each other in the privacy of thier own bedrooms!! !hopefully come november we can keep these rightwing republican christo-fascist rich corporate fratboy idiots to an even smaller minority than they have now!!their bigotry is disgusting!!!they really need to be removed from power!!church and state should indeed remain seperate entities!!also does anyone on here notice the blogs in support of republican bigotry seem to have been written by the most illiterate lowbrow morons? the majority of the anti gay blogs on here have a common theme which is; absolute ignorance!!one final thought;if you keep the insane bigotry coming repukes, the more unattractive you will appear to intellegent voters which will hopefully spell your electoral doom!!

Hitler tried to do the same thing, in so many ways this is the same thing. Freedom in the USA, means FREE to be who you are, not who the government wants you to be. I agree, fight like hell to stop this action against the free people of America.

You are mincing words Justin. You are creating an argument where there is none because you need to justify your support of an evil institution, probably because of either economics or some religious upbringing. In either event, it is sad. WHEN SOMEONE ARGUES THAT THE STATES SHOULD DECIDE ON MATTERS OF BASIC RIGHTS (to be Queer, to be people of color culturally — versus rights which are really privileges, like owning a yacht or going to a private school), they are arguing in favor of outlawing things, because some states – Texas for example, will immeditaely do so. This covers a large span of issues from stem-cell research to integrated public schools.

RYAN – You might be a gunowner, a true Texan and a proud American – all great things, but you are not an enlightened Gay person, nor have you come to a healthy place in your sexuality, or you would not be using ther 1800's psycho-technical term, "homosexual." That's a pulpit term used these days by bigots!

Also, it's asinine to equate being out and openly LGBT with being anti-gun. They are two different issues.

This is awesome it is against what anyone wanted same sex marriges are absolutely revolting!!!! I am glad to say that I am a Texan and that my state will hopefully be free of all homosexuals. I completely agree with the idea that they are ruining families because kids think it is ok to be gay. It is not and all you liberal pricks have no clue what yall are saying. The democrats are ruining this country and in Texas we are attempting to build this country back up by getting rid of one of the big problems!

Whats wrong with this country these days? I myself am a 16 yr old gay kid. Why would you put gays in jail? Its like the country thinks we’re a disease or something. This is why I’d rather move to England or something.

when i said illiterate lowbrow morons in my previous post…well..i give you joe from texas here above that seems to agree with the republican intolerance of gays.i,m sure it would be just fine with bigotted joe that consenting adults be arrested and sent to prison for engaging in sexual activity with one another in the PRIVACY of their own bedrooms!if some kids think it,s okay to be gay joe..that should just go to show you that the kids have far exceeded your wisdom,vision of what a better country would be and general sense of human decency you bigot!don,t you just love how conservative dim bulbs like joe think they alone are entitled to life and liberty and anyone else whether it,s liberals or gays or anyone they disaprove of does,nt deserve to exist.rightwing conservatism=mentally ill,dangerous intolerant bigots.

Some Republican friends almost had me convinced to join the GOP but after reading the blog here and other GOP issues on rights for some Americans but not all, I decided against such a drastic move as I believe a truly free country should not pick and choose who should and who should not have their full equal and civil rights. Under Hitler everyone had their full and equal rights except; Jews, GLBT and non-Catholics. According to everything I have read of the GOP they sound more like the Nazi Party and a theocracy instead of a free republican democracy. If the GOP has it’s way it will be Nazi Germany all over again and I want no part of anything like that as I grew up when Hitler was going to power back in the thirties and heard daily on the news of the millions of innocent people he put to death as his ideas were the same as the GOP>

New Mexico just got a Neo-Nazi Texan as their new governor, a Mexican woman. I can well remember not that many years ago when the Mexican-Americans were treated worse than Blacks in Texas. Back in the late fifties I watched some Texas policemen beat the living day lights out of a Mexican woman for asking to be served in an all white drive in cafe. Mexicans in those days were treated worse than wild animals and it was the GOP in Texas that enacted these laws. In fact the Nazi Party in Hitler’s Germany and the GOP of the USA are on the same issues to turn America in to a religious dictatorship and kill anyone they do not agree with. Texas was always a state of sorry ass backward country hicks and we should push them to recede from the Union and become a Republic again and round up any GOP Texans left in the US and place them in work camps to do the labor no one else wants to do and give them beef broth & stale bread to live on. Most Texans are ill bred morons with the brains of a duck, especially GOP members. They move to other states to corrupt our system and if they are so much in to killing gays just because they happened to be born that way, then we need to ship them off to Iran which is also a theocracy and kills anyone they do not approve of. In a way these morons are telling their pet gods we don’t like all your creation, so we are going to destroy some of it. Now if that is not insanity I’d like to know what is. And this Joe fellow on this blog thinks he is hot sh-t. Well he’ll think he is real hot sh-t if I meet up with him as I am not above sticking his head up his behind or beating some sense in to him. After all the rest of the USA does not consider Texas as a state, but as the Republic of Texas run by rednecks.